Mugabeism After Mugabe

Arguably, one of the long waited political handover of power, globally, happened in November 2017 in Zimbabwe when the former and now late 37- year long serving and divisive President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe was forced out of power by a combination of forces that were spearheaded by the military’s Operation Restore Legacy. Mugabe’s departure ushered in President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s reign. This transition has variously been characterised as marking the inauguration of the Second Republic or New Dispensation or as heralding a new Zimbabwe that is ‘Open for Business’. From the moment of the investiture of President Mnangagwa’s government, anticipations of seismic changes to the order of doing business by both the incoming government and the larger Zimbabwean society in general, were extremely high. There was an expectation that international cooperation with global partners, especially in the West, would be restored alongside the reinvigoration of a near comatose domestic economy. But, did this ever happen? This volume interrogates the impact of the introduction of the Mnangagwa administration from November 2017. The book seeks to broadly dissect and troubleshoot issues of continuity and change from Mugabe’s reign into Mnangagwa’s Second Republic. In doing so the book attempts to respond to the grand question: “To what extent has Mugabeism that was the hallmark of Mugabe’s reign, continued or discontinued into the Second Republic?” The volume, which comes as a sequel to The end of an era? Robert Mugabe and a conflicting legacy, is sure to generate interest and responses from students and academics in the fields of History, International Studies, Political Science, Sociology and Social anthropology, as well as from practitioners in the human rights, transitional jusrtice, conflict resolution, security studies and diplomatic fields.

What is distinctive about this book is its interdisciplinary approach towards deciphering the complex meanings of President Gabriel Mugabe of Zimbabwe making it possible to evaluate Mugabe from a historical, political, philosophical, gender, literal and decolonial perspectives. It is concerned with capturing various meanings of Mugabeism.

Arguably, one of the long waited political handover of power, globally, happened in November 2017 in Zimbabwe when the former and now late 37- year long serving and divisive President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe was forced out of power by a combination of forces that were spearheaded by the militarys Operation Restore Legacy. Mugabes departure ushered in President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwas reign. This transition has variously been characterised as marking the inauguration of the Second Republic or New Dispensation or as heralding a new Zimbabwe that is Open for Business. From the moment of the investiture of President Mnangagwas government, anticipations of seismic changes to the order of doing business by both the incoming government and the larger Zimbabwean society in general, were extremely high. There was an expectation that international cooperation with global partners, especially in the West, would be restored alongside the reinvigoration of a near comatose domestic economy. But, did this ever happen? This volume interrogates the impact of the introduction of the Mnangagwa administration from November 2017. The book seeks to broadly dissect and troubleshoot issues of continuity and change from Mugabes reign into Mnangagwas Second Republic. In doing so the book attempts to respond to the grand question: To what extent has Mugabeism that was the hallmark of Mugabes reign, continued or discontinued into the Second Republic? The volume, which comes as a sequel to The end of an era? Robert Mugabe and a conflicting legacy, is sure to generate interest and responses from students and academics in the fields of History, International Studies, Political Science, Sociology and Social anthropology, as well as from practitioners in the human rights, transitional jusrtice, conflict resolution, security studies and diplomatic fields.

After 25 years in power, Robert Mugabe is under increasing pressure to step down and allow democratic reform in Zimbabwe. Amnesty International rates the country among the worst for torture and abuse of human rights, the Commonwealth has suspended Zimbabwe's membership, and even in Africa there is growing outrage at what some see as a rogue state. In the past five years, millions of words have been written about the tragedy -- including more than a dozen books -- but few have focused on what might happen when freedom comes. As things stand, schools and hospitals have collapsed, a third of the population lives in exile and 3 000 people die of AIDS every week. Once Africa's second-biggest exporter of food, 70 per cent of the country lives under conditions of famine in the wake of violent land reform. What will it take to rebuild Zimbabwe? This gripping, incisive book discusses many relevant issues and asks serious questions, including: - Will 4 million exiles go home to a country with 80 per cent unemployment? - Should there be war-crimes trials? - Can the economy be revived? -Where will the billions of dollars come from that are needed to put things right? What Happens After Mugabe is meticulously researched, with material drawn from hundreds of interviews inside Zimbabwe and among exile communities in Britain, the US and South Africa.

"This book examines the ways in which political discourses of 'newness' are (re)produced, circulated, naturalised, received and contested in Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. Going beyond the ordinariness of conventional political science methods and theories, the book offers new, engaging and multi-disciplinary approaches that treat discourse and language as important sites to encounter the politics of contested representations and framings of the worsening crisis in Zimbabwe in the context of the 2017 Zimbabwean transition and the new leadership's legitimacy debacle. The book centres discourse in new approaches to contestations around representations and meanings of various aspects of the socio-economic and political crisis in the wake of the 2017 leadership changes. Chapter contributions will examine some of the ways in which language functions as a discursive mechanism for creating imaginaries, circulating, defending and contesting conceptions, visions, perceptions and knowledges of the post-Mugabe turn in the crisis and its management by the government. This book will be of interest to scholars of African Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Language/Discourse Studies, African politics and culture"--

Arguably, one of the most polarising figures in modern times has been Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the former President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. The mere mentioning of his name raises a lot of debate and often times vicious, if not irreconcilable differences, both in Zimbabwe and beyond. In an article titled: ‘Lessons of Zimbabwe’, Mahmood Mamdani succinctly captures the polarity thus: ‘It is hard to think of a figure more reviled in the West than Robert Mugabe… and his land reform measures, however harsh, have won him considerable popularity, not just in Zimbabwe but throughout southern Africa.’ This, together with his recent ‘stylised’ ouster, speaks volumes to his conflicted legacy. The divided opinion on Mugabe’s legacy can broadly be represented, first, by those who consider him as a champion of African liberation, a Pan-Africanist, an unmatched revolutionary and an avid anti-imperialist who, literally, ‘spoke the truth’ to Western imperialists. On the other end of the spectrum are those who – seemingly paying scant regard to the predicament of millions of black Zimbabweans brutally dispossessed of their land and human dignity since the Rhodesian days – have differentially characterised Mugabe as a rabid black fascist, an anti-white racist, an oppressor, and a dictator. Drawing on all these opinions and characterisations, the chapters ensconced in this volume critically reflect on the personality, leadership style and contributions of Robert Mugabe during his time in office, from 1980 to November 2017. The volume is timely in view of the current contested transition in Zimbabwe, and with regard to the ongoing consultations on the Land Question in neighbouring South Africa. It is a handy and richly documented text for students and practitioners in political science, African studies, economics, policy studies, development studies, and global studies.

This book is a philosopher’s view into the chaotic postcolony of Zimbabwe, delving into Robert Mugabe’s Will to Power. The Will to Power refers to a spirited desire for power and overwhelming fear of powerlessness that Mugabe artfully concealed behind performances of invincibility. Nietzsche’s philosophical concept of the Will to Power is interpreted and expanded in this book to explain how a tyrant is produced and enabled, and how he performs his tyranny. Achille Mbembe’s novel concept of the African postcolony is mobilised to locate Zimbabwe under Mugabe as a domain of the madness of power. The book describes Mugabe’s development from a vulnerable youth who was intoxicated with delusions of divine commission to a monstrous tyrant of the postcolony who mistook himself for a political messiah. This account exposes how post-political euphoria about independence from colonialism and the heroism of one leader can easily lead to the degeneration of leadership. However, this book is as much about bad leadership as it is about bad followership. Away from Eurocentric stereotypes where tyranny is isolated to African despots, this book shows how Mugabe is part of an extended family of tyrants of the world. He fought settler colonialism but failed to avoid being infected by it, and eventually became a native coloniser to his own people. The book concludes that Zimbabwe faces not only a simple struggle for democracy and human rights, but a Himalayan struggle for liberation from genocidal native colonialism that endures even after Robert Mugabe’s dethronement and death.

This book investigates how culture reflects change in Zimbabwe, focusing predominantly on Mnangagwa’s 2017 coup, but also uncovering deeper roots for how renewal and transition are conceived in the country. Since Emmerson Mnangagwa ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017, he has been keen to defi ne his "Second Republic" or "New Dispensation" with a rhetoric of change and a rejection of past political and economic cultures. This multi and inter- disciplinary volume looks to the (social) media, language/ discourse, theatre, images, political speeches and literary fiction and non- fiction to see how they have reflected on this time of unprecedented upheaval. The book argues that themes of self- renewal stretch right back to the formative years of the ZANU PF, and that despite the longevity of Mugabe’s tenure, the latest transition can be seen as part of a complex and protracted layering of postcolonial social, economic and political changes. Providing an innovative investigation of how political change in Zimbabwe is reflected on in cultural texts and products, this book will be of interest to researchers across African history, literature, politics, culture and post- colonial studies.